Walters turns to Capewell to give Broncos a boost
BRONCOS coach Kevin Walters has vowed to fix the club’s defensive horror shows and says marquee recruit Kurt Capewell will provide the backbone that leads Brisbane back to the finals.
Capewell will take the first steps in his Broncos career on Saturday night when the Queensland Origin utility captains Brisbane in its derby trial hitout against the Titans at Cbus Super Stadium.
While South Sydney champion Adam Reynolds has stolen the headlines as Brisbane’s No.1 off-season recruit, the acquisition of premiership-winner Capewell is equally critical in the plan to haul the Broncos out of the NRL cellar.
Walters knows that restoring the Broncos as a finals force must start with sorting out their appalling defence.
The Broncos leaked a whopping 695 points last season – the worst defensive record in the club’s 33-year
history – and history shows that teams possessing a poor constitution without the football do not play finals football. Enter Capewell.
The 28-year-old was at the heartbeat of the defensive resolve that propelled the Panthers to last year’s premiership and Broncos players have alThe ready detected the one-percent attitude Capewell pledged to bring to Red Hill.
If Broncos players are guilty of poor standards or defensive misreads at training, Capewell and fellow veteran recruit Ryan James have called them out. No shortcuts. No laziness in defence. They are the qualities Capewell learned during his stint at premiership clubs Cronulla and Penrith, and Walters says the back-rower will be Brisbane’s Minister for Defence this season.
Capewell will replace retired skipper Alex Glenn on Brisbane’s left edge this season and is keen to play major minutes against the Titans in his maiden 2022 hitout.